Palau (2001) | Equatorial Guinea (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 18 states; Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur, Hatobohei, Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard, Ngarchelong, Ngardmau, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngeremlengui, Ngiwal, Palau Island, Peleliu, Sonsoral, Tobi | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
26.88% (male 2,641; female 2,491) 15-64 years: 68.46% (male 7,128; female 5,943) 65 years and over: 4.66% (male 420; female 469) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.2% (male 108,179; female 107,164)
15-64 years: 54% (male 132,342; female 143,509) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,576; female 10,703) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 3 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total:
458 sq km land: 458 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independent status in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year when the islands gained their independence. | Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. President OBIANG NGUEM MBASOGO has ruled the tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus five inhabited islands and one of the smallest countries on the African continent, since he seized power in a coup in 1979. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 legislative elections - were widely seen as being flawed. |
Birth rate | 19.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 36.94 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$57.7 million expenditures: $80.8 million, including capital expenditures of $17.1 million (FY98/99 est.) |
revenues: $200 million
expenditures: $158 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Koror; note - a new capital is being built about 20 km northeast of Koror | Malabo |
Climate | wet season May to November; hot and humid | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 1,519 km | 296 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1981 | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Palau conventional short form: Palau local long form: Beluu er a Belau local short form: Belau former: Palau District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
conventional long form: Republic of Equatorial Guinea
conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial former: Spanish Guinea |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 7.23 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.54 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $0 (FY99/00) | $248 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
the Ambassador to the Philippines is accredited to Palau; Charge d'Affaires Allen E. NUGENT embassy: address NA, Koror mailing address: P. O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940 telephone: [680] 488-2920, 2990 FAX: [680] 488-2911 |
the US does not have an embassy in Equatorial Guinea (embassy closed September 1995); the US ambassador to Cameroon is accredited to Equatorial Guinea; the US State Department is considering opening a Consulate Agency in Malabo |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Hersey KYOTA chancery: 1150 18th Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-6814 FAX: [1] (202) 452-6281 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Teodoro Biyogo NSUE
chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 518-5252 |
Disputes - international | none | in 2002, ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but states have not yet agreed to abide by the decision; creation of a maritime boundary in hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay with Gabon is hampered by dispute over small islets on Mbane/Mbagne bank, administered and occupied by Gabon since the 1970s |
Economic aid - recipient | $155.8 million (1995); note - the Compact of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, will provide Palau with up to $700 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities | $33.8 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The economy consists primarily of subsistence agriculture and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. The population enjoys a per capita income of twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific and the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries. | The discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the neglect of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth (the government has stated its intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture). A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993 because of corruption and mismanagement. No longer eligible for concessional financing because of large oil revenues, the government has been unsuccessfully trying to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF. Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government officials and their family members. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Growth will remain strong in 2003, led by oil. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 21.91 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | - | 23.56 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 94.3%
hydro: 5.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Ngerchelchauus 242 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral dredging, illegal fishing practices, and overfishing | tap water is not potable; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 70%, Asian (mainly Filipinos, followed by Chinese, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese) 28%, white 2% (2000 est.) | Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Sandra PIERANTOZZI (since 19 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Sandra PIERANTOZZI (since 19 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet elections: president and vice president elected on separate tickets by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. elected president; percent of vote - Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. 53%, Peter SUGIYAMA 46%; Sandra PIERANTOZZI elected vice president; percent of vote - Sandra PIERANTOZZI 52%, Alan SEID 45% |
chief of state: President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979 when he seized power in a military coup)
head of government: Prime Minister Candido Muatetema RIVAS (since 26 February 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Miguel OYONO NDONG (since NA January 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Demetrio Elo NDONG NZE FUMU (since NA January 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2009); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected president; percent of vote - Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO 97.1%, Celestino Bonifacio BACALE 2.2%; elections marred by widespread fraud |
Exports | $14.3 million (f.o.b., 1996) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | trochus (type of shellfish), tuna, copra, handicrafts | petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa |
Exports - partners | US, Japan | US 28.3%, Spain 25.3%, China 17.4%, Canada 10.6%, France 4.9% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 January - 31 December |
Flag description | light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon) shifted slightly to the hoist side | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $129 million (1998 est.)
note: GDP numbers reflect US spending |
purchasing power parity - $1.27 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,100 (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1.4% (1998 est.) | 20% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 7 30 N, 134 30 E | 2 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | includes World War II battleground of Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands; archipelago of six island groups totaling over 200 islands in the Caroline chain | insular and continental regions rather widely separated |
Highways | total:
61 km paved: 36 km unpaved: 25 km |
total: 2,880 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $126 million (f.o.b., FY99/00) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs | petroleum sector equipment, other equipment |
Imports - partners | US | US 29.1%, Spain 15.9%, UK 14.8%, France 10.4%, Norway 7.2%, Netherlands 4.8%, Italy 4.7% (2002) |
Independence | 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship) | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 30% (2002 est.) |
Industries | tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | 16.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 89.02 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 95.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 82.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 6% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; National Court; Court of Common Pleas | Supreme Tribunal |
Labor force | 8,300 (1999) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 539 km
border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km |
Land use | arable land:
NA% permanent crops: NA% permanent pastures: NA% forests and woodland: NA% other: NA% |
arable land: 4.63%
permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English and Palauan official in all states except Sonsoral (Sonsorolese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official) | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo |
Legal system | based on Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) consists of the Senate (16 seats; members elected by popular vote on a population basis to serve four-year terms) and the House of Delegates (16 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004); House of Delegates - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; House of Delegates - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
unicameral House of People's Representatives or Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (80 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - PDGE 80%, UP 6%, CPDS 5%; seats by party - PDGE 75, UP 4 and CPDS 1 note: opposition parties have refused to take up their seats in the House to protest widespread irregularities in the 1999 legislative elections |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.89 years male: 65.77 years female: 72.19 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 54.75 years
male: 52.63 years female: 56.93 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92% male: 93% female: 90% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.7% male: 93.3% female: 78.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM extended fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 7,571 GRT/9,670 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US; under a Compact of Free Association between Palau and the US, the US military is granted access to the islands for 50 years | - |
Military branches | NA | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $30 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 2.5% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 116,496 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 59,110 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 9 July (1979) | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Palauan(s) adjective: Palauan |
noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
Natural hazards | typhoons (June to December) | violent windstorms, flash floods |
Natural resources | forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals | oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium, titanium, iron ore |
Net migration rate | 4.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 37 km; gas 39 km; liquid natural gas 4 km; oil 24 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Palau Nationalist Party [Johnson TORIBIONG]; Ta Belau Party [Kuniwo NAKAMURA] | Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido MIKO Abogo]; Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE (ruling party) [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO]; Party for Progress of Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo MOTO]; Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Miguel Esono EMAN]; Popular Union or UP [Andres Moises Bda ADA]; Progressive Democratic Alliance or ADP [Victorino Bolekia BONAY]; Union of Independent Democrats of UDI [Daniel OYONO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 19,092 (July 2001 est.) | 510,473 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.69% (2001 est.) | 2.44% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Koror | Bata, Luba, Malabo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002) |
Radios | 12,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 0 km |
Religions | Christian (Catholics, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Assembly of God, the Liebenzell Mission, and Latter-Day Saints), Modekngei religion (one-third of the population observes this religion which is indigenous to Palau) | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.2 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.14 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
general assessment: poor system with adequate government services
domestic: NA international: international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,500 (1988) | 6,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1988) | 300 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 2.47 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.75 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.3% (2000 est.) | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |